LEADERS

A DIVERSITY OF TALENT

TLC’s Board consists of leaders in the Native American language revitalization movement – all committed to expanding Tribes’ access to financial and technical support for their endangered languages.

TLC draws from a diverse pool of talent; including tribal community educators and cultural leaders, as well as linguists working closely with tribal communities.

BEN BLACK BEAR

Mr. Black Bear (Sičháŋǧu Lakȟóta) serves as the Lakota Translation and Language Specialist for the Lakota Language Consortium. His other credentials include positions as the former Vice President of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, the founder of the Lakota Studies Department at Sinte Gleska University, and thecurrent director of Lakota Studies at St. Francis Mission.

NACOLE WALKER

Ms. Walker (Húŋkpapȟa Lakȟóta) is a linguistics graduate student at University of British Columbia and Lakota language instructor at Sitting Bull College and University of South Dakota. Ms. Walker works to revitalize Lakota through numerous programs and approaches.

WILHELM MEYA

Mr. Meya is the Chairman and Executive Director of the Language Conservancy. He is a national advocate for endangered languages and draws on more than 20 years of experience in higher education, linguistics, and nonprofit management.

Under Mr. Meya's leadership, the Conservancy has become the chief promoter of worldwide action for protecting languages and preserving cultures.

JAN ULLRICH

Mr. Ullrich is Linguistic Director and Vice-Chairman of The Language Conservancy. He is one of the world’s leading applied linguists and the foremost authority on the Lakota language. Mr. Ullrich brings these skills and specializations in curriculum development and teacher-training to his leadership of TLC’s endangered language programming work.

DR. JOHN BOYLE

Dr. John Boyle specializes in Crow and Hidatsa language programs and works on the TLC’s Crow Curriculum Development Project. Dr. Boyle specializes in syntax, morphology, second language acquisition, language documentation and revitalization, and language pedagogy.

DR. JANINE PEASE

Dr. Pease (Crow) is an educator and advocate. She is the founding president of the Little Big Horn college as well as the past president of the American Indiana Higher Education Consortium and director of the American Indian College Fund. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the National Advisory Council on Indiana Education and the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities. She has also served as a trustee of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.